Madlab Theatre Roulette

admin  8/2/2022
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THEATRE ROULETTE is MadLab’s annual shorts festival. In its first year, THEATRE ROULETTE began a tradition of an annual shorts festival that has lasted more than 10 years. The first year was an “invitation-only” festival, from there expanded to taking local submissions to taking submission from across the United States to now, receiving. 2016 THEATRE ROULETTE Auditions MadLab in Columbus 01/23. There will be one night with a straight flush from a single playwright and two nights that are full of wildcards from a lot of talented.

Theatre Roulette is Ohio’s longest running shorts festival, now celebrating its 22nd year. What began as an “invitation-only” festival expanded to taking local submissions, then to taking submission from across the United States, and now receives over 1,000 scripts annually from every corner of the world. Submissions for Theatre Roulette 2021 open 6/10/20 and will close when we reach 1,500 submissions.
Please follow our submission guidelines to increase the chances of your script being selected.

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For this year's Theatre Roulette we will be focusing the three nights of shows into three specific locations. Please great creative with your use of these locations, but note these are the only set pieces available. Props, lighting, costume, and sound effects will be available to further shape your setting.
1. Blank stage - Make the stage whatever you want but there should be no set required. Available furniture: park bench, simple chairs

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2. Living room/Bedroom - For at home shows. Available furniture: couch, arm chair, simple chairs, bed, coffee table, bedside table
3. An office - For shows in a work setting. Available furniture: desk, conference table, simple chairs, white board, podium
Guidelines
  • Scripts should be about 5 to 15 pages and run 5-15 minutes
    • If your script is 25 pages, or 19 pages with size 7 font, we will not read it.
    • If your script is a monologue, it should not be 15 pages. Stick to the 5-15 minute guideline there.
  • All submissions should be emailed to submissions@madlab.net
    • Scripts should be PDF’s or Word documents
    • Please attach all scripts to 1 email
    • We're not super picky on formatting, as long as it's legible, but if you want a guide, we like this style.
    • Do not send links
    • Do not send resumes/bios/reviews or anything other than the script
    • We're only going to look at the scripts. The other stuff just gets in the way and makes us grouchy.
  • Maximum five submissions per playwright
    • Please attach all scripts to 1 email
    • If you send us 8, we might read the first 5. Or we might not.
  • We are not accepting collections at this time
    • If you’ve got 5 solid shows, send them as 5 separate scripts.
  • We are a black box theatre. Please keep that in mind.
    • If one of your characters flies in on rigging, or your 10 minute show requires a life size replica of the Enterprise, we’re going to laugh a lot.
  • Playwrights will be notified when their script is received, but only contacted further if the show is selected for production.
    • If we had a full-time paid staff we would totally send rejection emails. We know how much you all love them.
  • Playwrights will be paid a stipend of $50

“But what are you looking for?”
What makes a play a “MadLab” play? Like obscenity, it’s hard to define, but we know it and love it when we see it. Here’s a few tips as to what we like to produce and what our audiences have come to expect:
  1. Plays with a strong Point of View. Our audiences expect to not only be entertained for an evening, but to leave the theatre with something to think about and remember. We want to read plays from and for the marginalized and forgotten. We love new takes on old problems. We adore speaking Truth to Power.
  2. Good Stories with Vibrant Characters. Now, any play can have that strong POV, but the special ones show us that through strong storytelling and equally strong characters. So, mesmerize us with your craft and enchant us with your characters. Bonus points for well written female characters and casts that give an accurate representation of our multiracial society, as well as those that challenge the concept of binary sexuality. We’re not saying we won’t produce your play about 10 white suburban dads and their annual golf outing, but…
  3. Plays that are Visual. Ok, we’ll be completely honest – we are on a shoestring budget as far as sets/costumes go, but we’ve been doing this for 25 years and we love an artistic challenge. MadLab is a 75 seat converted garage black box theatre, so plan accordingly. But challenge us. You’d probably be surprised what we’re capable of.
  4. Plays that are modern. We definitely respect your historical masterpiece, but if your play involves iambic pentameter or greek gods it’s probably not our speed.
  5. Make us Laugh. We’ve been told we have an “offbeat” sense of humor. We’ve also been told we may require psychological counseling. Be bold in your comedy writing, don’t worry about offending us (or our audiences), and never be afraid of being silly.
  6. Make us Cry. See above.
  7. Heck, do both with the same play. Always the best option to our way of thinking☺

Thanks for your interest. Good luck with your submission, and regardless of the outcome here, be sure to keep writing and producing new works.

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MadLab Theatre and Gallery is a non-profit organization that provides an artistic haven for the creation and experience of original works. It is a laboratory where individuals and ensembles are free to experiment without censor. Each year we produce seven to eight full-length original productions including 'Theatre Roulette,' the longest-running annual shorts festival in Columbus. In addition, MadLab serves emerging artists by providing an affordable, quality venue to small arts organizations. MadLab has been called a 'Generation X-troupe with ambition and taboo-shattering imagination' (The Columbus Dispatch). Our work has been cited for an 'amazing display of theatrical creativity' (The Other Paper) and has been nominated four times for the Greater Columbus Arts Council's Artistic Excellence award. And now we're closer to downtown than ever. With the purchase of our facility at 227 North Third, we've solidified our position as an affordable and accessible venue for the most exciting and daring artists Central Ohio has to offer. Join the experiment and become a member today!